Category: Efficiency & Productivity

Opening Up Your Personal Constraints

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Oftentimes personal development seems like a nebulous task. Since a lot of it takes place in our heads and hearts, it would seem that attempts at self-improvement are hard to quantify. However, could there be a way to use physical world productivity systems to produce inner growth?

On his YouTube channel, Tiago Forte recently explored using the Theory of Constraints to improve personal productivity and development. For those not familiar with the theory, it was developed decades ago to better understand how large-scale systems, especially factories, could function more effectively. A key focus of the process is identifying the bottleneck. The website Lean Production defines it this way:

The core concept of the Theory of Constraints is that every process has a single constraint and that total process throughput can only be improved when the constraint is improved. A very important corollary to this is that spending time optimizing non-constraints will not provide significant benefits; only improvements to the constraint will further the goal (achieving more profit).

Thus, TOC seeks to provide precise and sustained focus on improving the current constraint until it no longer limits throughput, at which point the focus moves to the next constraint. The underlying power of TOC flows from its ability to generate a tremendously strong focus towards a single goal (profit) and to removing the principal impediment (the constraint) to achieving more of that goal. In fact, Goldratt considers focus to be the essence of TOC.

Tiago believes that this theory can be applied to personal growth. In the video, he gives an example of how he uses it to improve his deep-thinking time for writing his next book. Since there is no physical bottleneck, what he explores is how his personal energy is the obstacle to his process. He then identifies ways to overcome it, such as blocking out time in the morning, exercising, eating healthy, and minimizing distractions. All these actions are ways to expand his capacity to think deeper.

The video is only five minutes long and easy to understand. I invite you to watch it and learn how the Theory of Constraints could improve your life.

Don’t Send that Email … Unless You Have To!

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Being careful when sending an email is something every knowledge worker must consider on a daily basis. Below is a section from my article, Effective Email Etiquette, to highlight when it is best to put something in an email and when it is not.

Don’t Send that Email … Unless You Have To!

One of the biggest challenges in effective communication is deciding the medium for the message. For many people, email is a common way to share information. In fact, it is often preferred, as implied by the saying, “this was another meeting that should have been an email.”  Yet it does have limits. Here are times when email is appropriate:

  1. Routine communication: Emails are suitable for routine updates, sharing information, and conveying non-urgent messages. If your message is not time-sensitive and allows for a delayed response, email is a suitable choice.
  2. Documentation: When you need a written record of communication, such as project updates, agreements, or decisions.
  3. Scheduling and coordination: For arranging meetings, confirming appointments, and coordinating schedules.
  4. Formal communication: In professional settings, emails are often appropriate for formal communication, such as job applications, official announcements, and business proposals.
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However, there are situations when hitting send on that message would cause trouble:

  1. Urgent matters: In situations requiring immediate attention or response, consider using a more direct and real-time communication method, such as phone calls or instant messaging.
  2. Sensitive or confidential information: Avoid sending sensitive or confidential information via email, especially if it involves personal or financial details. Use secure methods or direct communication for such matters. If your message involves emotional or sensitive topics, consider having a face-to-face conversation or using a more personal communication method to avoid misunderstandings.
  3. Complex issues: For complex or nuanced discussions that may benefit from real-time interaction and clarification, opt for a meeting or a phone call.
  4. Negative feedback: When providing constructive criticism or negative feedback, it’s often better to deliver it in person or over the phone to ensure clarity and understanding.

What to know more about how to do better emails? Read the entire article on Effective Email Etiquette.

Never Leave a Meeting Without Doing This

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Imagine a meeting where all the participants are active in the conversation. Great ideas are shared and built upon. Everyone feels excited about the goals discussed. Was that a successful meeting? It could be, so long as something important is done before the meeting is adjourned.

Many seemingly productive meetings end up being for naught if the follow-through is fumbled. To ensure it happens, follow this simple rule.

Never end a meeting without summarizing the decisions and assigning the next actions to move items forward.

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Prioritized next actions are the fruits of a successful meeting. When there is uncertainty over who is responsible to do tasks decided upon in the meeting, the risk of inaction is huge. Everyone attending the meeting should be clear on his or her responsibilities before adjournment.

Five key steps to remember:

  • Write down the specific next actions decided on in the meeting
  • Assign the task to participants and make them responsible for completing each action
  • Be clear on the deadlines for each action item
  • Have a means to share updates on each action completed with the rest of the group
  • Finally, decide when and where the next meeting will happen if needed

Follow these steps to ensure that your valuable meetings lead to success afterwards.

The “Two Day” Rule for Habit Change

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Did you create a New Year’s resolution?

Did you already abandon it?

With the calendar now reading 2025, this is the time when people make and sadly ultimately abandon their New Year’s resolutions. A resolution simply put is an intention to create a new habit. Despite noble intentions, it is hard to create a new habit that lasts beyond the initial enthusiasm. Willpower alone is never enough. Is there a way to retain the energy of a new behavior so that it becomes successfully engrained for the long term?

In an article on the INC. website, writer Jeff Haden explores this question. He starts by talking about how habits form.

One way to build new habits is to build routines, because routines can be critical to success. Say you’re trying to boost sales, and want to make five cold calls every day. Great: Decide that you’ll make those calls at 10 a.m., block out and protect that time, create a calendar alert, hold yourself accountable by embracing Jerry Seinfeld’s “put an X on the calendar technique,” and get started.

Within a week or two, you won’t have to decide to make five cold calls. You won’t have to force yourself to make five cold calls.

You’ll just make them, because that’s what you do.

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After a habit is established, how do we ensure it does not wither away when time gets tight, or temptation rises up? The best approach is to apply what Haden calls the “Two Day” rule.

The premise is simple: Never let two days pass without acting toward your goal. If your goal is to make five cold calls a day, and you don’t make them today, that’s OK. Just make sure you make five cold calls tomorrow. If your goal is to spend 15 minutes talking to at least one employee every day—about their goals, their ideas, about bottlenecks or logjams you can help clear so they can more easily do their jobs—and you don’t do that today, that’s OK. Just make sure you do that tomorrow.

If you eat out tonight and fall off your diet wagon, that’s OK. Just make sure you get back on it tomorrow.

Learn more about habits and how to sustain them by reading the rest of the article.

Don’t Know the Reason for the Meeting? Then Don’t Meet!

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Have you ever left a meeting with a variation of this question spinning in your head:

“What was the reason for that meeting?”

It is very easy to call a meeting, yet few people consider the organizational impact of these gatherings. By simple logic when people are meeting, they are not doing their regular work. If the meeting does not provide value by its end, the impact on the organization is negative in terms of time wasted and energies drained.

Here are three disheartening statistics found on the website Flowtrace.

  • 71% of meetings are considered unproductive by employees.
  • 45% of employees admitted to feeling overwhelmed by attending too many meetings.
  • An estimated $37 billion is lost annually in the U.S. due to inefficient meetings.
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Therefore, it is important to know the right time to call a meeting. Thankfully there is a simple way to determine if a meeting is unnecessary. It goes like this:

If you are unable to articulate the purpose of a meeting, then a meeting should not be called.

Without clarity of purpose, a meeting is destined to slip into a time sink of wasted words. A tool to get off on the right foot is to fill in the blank below with ten words or less:

The purpose of the meeting is ____________.

If you can’t spell out a clearly stated purpose that anyone in your organization can appreciate, then don’t hold the meeting. According to the Flowtrace article, 72% of survey respondents listed setting clear objectives as important for a successful meeting. Therefore, being clear on the purpose is key to making meetings more impactful and energizing.

So, what is the purpose of your next meeting?

6 Ways to Be More Productive

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What do experts in efficiency say are the best ways to be productive?

Journalist Emily Laurence reached out to productivity coaches to learn what they recommend to their clients. She summed up her findings in a recent article in GQ magazine titled 6 Ways to Be More Productive and Actually Get Stuff Done. The first piece of advice was to prioritize what needs to be done.

Productivity coach Juli Shulem says that there’s one word she repeatedly hears from all her clients: overwhelmed. When it comes to being more productive, she says that the biggest roadblock is that most people have no idea where to start. So instead of doing anything, they’re paralyzed and do nothing. Can you relate?

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So how does one decide where to start? The coach offered this advice.

Shulem says the first step to being productive is getting on paper everything you need to do. This includes both tasks that are immediate and need to be done that day as well as what eventually needs to be done. For big “to-dos” that are farther out, Shulem recommends breaking it down into smaller micro tasks. For example, if you have a big work presentation in three weeks, the micro-tasks could be research, building your deck, and doing a run-through of exactly what you’re going to say.

To learn the other five ways to be more productive, please read the rest of the article.

Three Reasons to Call a Meeting

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You may have heard the not so old saying: “That was another meeting that could have been an email.”

People detest meetings when they feel unproductive. This is especially true when the reason for calling the meeting is unclear. Based on my experience, there are three major reasons to call a meeting that will keep participants engaged and come to productive conclusions.

1/ Sharing Important Information

Sharing information is a base-line function of all meetings. However, face-to-face is very useful for these types of situations:

  • Sharing Important/Timely News – Sometimes breaking news must be shared with everyone together at the same time. For example, when an organization is set to issue a controversial press release a quick all hands-on deck meeting may be the fastest way to inform the team in advance and at the same time.
  • Immediate Q&A – Instead of letting confusion linger, questions about an important or complicated topic can be quickly addressed in a face-to-face meeting. Answers are heard by the entire team at the same time, avoiding repetition.
  • The “Look Them in the Eyes” Factor – Whenever there is bad or sad news to share or an apology
    to be issued, doing so in person conveys respect for the team.

2/ Making a Presentation

While presentation can be sent by email, something might be lost without a presenter to emphasize or clarify items. Presenting in person can improve comprehension and increase engagement in the material. Types of presentations best suited for face-to-face meetings include:

  • Complicated Items – Presentations can break down complex subjects for easier understanding. In a live situation, the presenter can adjust on the fly to match audience’s perceived understanding and level of engagement.
  • Clear up Misunderstandings – Presenters can address questions as they come up, allowing the whole group to benefit while the topic is fresh in their minds.
  • Swaying Opinion – If people need to be convinced on a course of action, face-to-face “sales” type
    presentations are preferred. In this format, a presenter is able to access a wide range of public speaking tools to make their case for a course of action.

3/ Facilitating Discussion

Bringing people together creates an opportunity to dive deeply into a topic that non-
synchronized formats cannot duplicate. Talking together in the same room can be very stimulating and help build up a team. Examples of meetings designed for discussion include:

  • Problem Solving – Coming together in person is often the fastest way to solve a problem. Teammates share different viewpoints and build on each other’s ideas. This can develop innovative ways to resolve issues that could not be thought of individually.
  • Strategic Visioning – Bringing together people from different parts of the organization for long-
    range planning meeting is a beneficial exercise. Small-scale, in-person discussions can surface facts or concerns from across the organization.
  • Finding Consensus – When a critical decision must be made, face-to-face discussions can be
    the fastest way to get the team into agreement. An open discussion allows all parties to share
    their concerns and increase the potential to come to a meaningful decision.

If you are considering calling a meeting think about whether it falls into one of these three reasons. Otherwise, start drafting that email.

What Does “Organized” Mean?

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Have you ever said to yourself that you need to get organized?

It is common for people after looking at the mess covering their desks to want better organization in their spaces. However, very few stop to ask an important question: what does it mean to be organized?

Does it require fancy software? Do you need high priced planners and office supplies? Does it mean throwing everything out and keeping almost nothing? Or none of the above?

Not surprisingly, David Allen of Getting Things Done fame has thought deeply about what it means to be organized. He even has a simple definition which he shared in a recent article on the GTD website.

You are disorganized if you need something somewhere that you don’t have or have something somewhere that you don’t need. 

David then shares a fun challenge that he does with audiences.

An exercise I’ve done in my seminars is to have everyone reach into their purses or wallets and get something that doesn’t belong there permanently, and which has been there longer than a few hours (besides money). Almost all have at least one thing in that category—a receipt, a business card, a scrap of paper with scribbled notes, an old parking ticket. These are things whose location does not map to their meaning to the person who has them. If the item has no further usefulness, it is trash, but it’s not in the trash. Often it is something they need to store somewhere else—it is reference, but it’s not appropriately accessible as such. Sometimes it’s something that they need to do something about, but it is not in a place to remind them to do it. There is lack of coherence between what the thing is and where it is.

So how does one decide what items should go where? David created a cheat list to decide what to do with any item. Here are a few examples.

  • I don’t need or want it = trash
  • I still need to decide what this means to me = in-tray item
  • I might need to know this information = reference
  • I use it = equipment and supplies

To see the rest of the list, please read the entire article on the Getting Things Done website.

Avoid Enormous Emails

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Have you ever opened an email and found it to be the size of a short novel? Did it make you want to close it up and not read a word? Now have you ever sent one of those emails?

Sending enormous emails is not ideal. Email works best when it is brief and to the point. Earlier this year I wrote on an article on my website about email etiquette. In that piece, I shared several tips on how to craft your messages to avoid the enormous emails problem. Below is that section from the article.

Well, there is no hard and fast rule on the maximum length of an email, there are general guidelines based on purpose, content, and preferences of your audience.

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  1. Brevity is Key: Aim to be clear and concise in your communication. Most people appreciate emails that get to the point without unnecessary details. If you have multiple topics to discuss, consider breaking them into separate emails. This helps the recipient to absorb information more easily.
  2. Use Paragraphs and Bullets: Organize your content into short paragraphs and use bullet points to make the text easy to scan for recipients to grasp the key points quickly.
  3. Avoid Information Overload: Too much information in a single email can be overwhelming. Focus on the most important details and provide additional information or attachments if needed.
  4. Effective Use of Hyperlinks: Instead of including lengthy information within the email, use hyperlinks to direct recipients to additional resources or details.
  5. Closing and Call to Action: Clearly state your closing remarks and any necessary calls to action. Be specific about what you expect from the recipient if any action is required.
  6. Proofread and Edit: Before sending, review your email for unnecessary information or repetitive content. Edit for clarity and brevity.

One final point. If you need to share large amounts of information through email, consider sending it as an attachment. Whether as a Word of PDF document, it is easier for the recipient to open the information in a more readable application and print out cleanly if needed.

To learn more about effective email etiquette, please read the rest of the article on the Efficient Librarian website.